Camellia lovers will gather in Narrandera later this month to celebrate the Narrandera Garden Club’s 50th annual Camellia show in conjunction with the Camellia Australia National Show.

The very first Narrandera show began in 1974 and besides the two years when Covid was at its peak, the show has been held every year and has seen great growth since its inception.

According to the Garden Club’s Secretary, Denise Di Salvia, the show is set to draw a crowd.

“It’s 50 years since it started and was one of the best shows in the area; in fact, it is now the only show left in the area,” she said.

“Since it is a national show combined with our 50th, we will have people coming from all over the place, and many will have blooms to put in the show.

“They will be coming from Sydney, Canberra, Nowra, the Illawarra, Berry, Melbourne, Warrigal, Griffith, Wagga and our regular faithful exhibitors from Albury.”

The show will run on the 23rd and 24th of August at the Narrandera Ex-Servicemen’s Club, with the benching of the blooms open on Thursday the 22nd from 4:30pm to 10pm and Friday morning from 8:30am to 11:30am.

The show will then start at 2pm on Friday and will run until 5pm, with the official opening to start at 3pm.

The Camellia Australia Business Meeting will also be hosted on the Friday, followed by a presentation dinner at 6:30pm.

On Saturday, the show will continue from 10 am until 4 pm, followed by the Camellia Ark Meeting.

Registrations will be accepted on the morning of the show, with over 100 different categories available for exhibitors to enter their blooms.

The show is expected to draw Camellia lovers from around Australia to exhibit and admire the range.

According to Mrs Di Salvia, the club is looking forward to the range of blooms that exhibitors will be bringing.

“We’re really looking forward to all the extra blooms that will come from different areas, and I am hoping there will be a lot of Reticulata’s for people to see because they’re very different and many haven’t seen them before,” she said.

“You really can’t buy a lot of the different kinds of camellias these days, so it is a good chance to see them in one place.

“We hope it will be a really good event and that those who come will take time to look around Narrandera and enjoy everything we have,” she concluded.

This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 22 August 2024.